Chapter 29

The next few days were pretty much routine for Chuck and Blair, as they got back into the grind of work, business meetings and connections. As well, on Blair's side especially, the care of their son Matthew fell more and more on her shoulders as Dorota became busy taking over more of the household chores. For the most part, she didn't mind being responsible for her child, but it did cause an issue sometimes with her company, so like her mother, sometimes she held meetings at her own house, and thus was the case when Jenny arrived one afternoon with her protégée, Bonnie, who was transformed in an interesting style herself.

They soon got down to business, displaying upcoming style ideas, contemplating the next lines, sales prospectus, and so forth. When it came to personal matters, Bonnie seemed very subdued, despite wearing a style that bordered somewhere between 1940s and a stylized pop singer like classic Britney or Christina, or Euro pop newbie Lady GaGa...which was certainly an interesting look to say the least. When Blair asked her about the Tiffany bracelet she was wearing, Bonnie admitted that her partner, Clyde, had given it to her, to which Blair almost laughed after she thought of the things Chuck or Nate had given her in high school.

Bonnie seemed more subdued than the last time, not asking as many questions and although she still drilled Blair with a few questions about her high school experience and how she became Queen Bee of Constance. Blair's response was flippantly telling her to just be the biggest bitch on campus and things should take care of themselves, from then on. Bonnie then began asking Blair about her personal style, where Blair suggested the best places to buy headbands and tights, although she suggested that she take her style cues but make it her own thing.

It wasn't but a few minutes later, that Dorota came in leading a pimply faced boy with shifty eyes, a pointy nose, and a very eclectic rocker-meets-gangster-type style that vaguely complemented what Bonnie was wearing, into the living room.

"A Mr. Clyde is here to pick up Miss Bonnie..." Dorota said as she introduced the boy.

"Hello Clyde, you came to pick me up?" Bonnie gasped in question.

"Yes...hello ladies...Jenny Humphreys, Mrs. Bass...." Clyde hissed slightly snidely.

"Hello...Clyde is it? It's a...pleasure to meet you..." Blair said cautiously as she stared at him.

"Yes...the pleasure is all mine....you have a...nice place here...very 'neat' and 'tidy'...with all the comforts that money can buy, don't you, Mrs. Bass...." Clyde hissed, as he stared at Blair at let his eyes dart around the room.

"Yes...my husband and I live quite comfortably I suppose...do you go to school at all Clyde?" Blair asked cautiously.

"Yes...when I can...I'm supposed to be on scholarship to St. Judes...but I've never lived on the Upper East Side until now..." Clyde said as his eyes continued to glance around the room.

"Really? Where do you used to live?" Blair asked curiously.

"Hell's Kitchen..." Clyde said, as he stared at her and snidely smirked.

"Oh...that's interesting..." Blair said slightly nervously.

"Hmmph...Bonnie, come...I don't have all day..." Clyde snide said, as he shifted his attention from Blair to Bonnie.

"I don't know if I want to ride with you in your BMW...okay...I'm coming..." Bonnie said cautiously, as she went to Clyde and he locked his hand around her wrist and seemingly pulled her out the door.

Blair and Jenny watched the two of them as they walked out to an older BMW, which they climbed into, then sped off. Blair then turned to Jenny and asked "All right Jenny, who was that and what was that all about?"

"That was what I wanted to talk to you about, Blair. Lately at school I've noticed that Bonnie's been hanging out with Clyde Barrowsworth all the time. If he's her boyfriend, that's one thing, but lately he's influenced her whole outer appearance and demeanor. Suddenly she's dressing to go along with him, acting more like him, following him everywhere he goes...sometimes I wonder if they're practically handcuffed together...actually one day I think they may have been..." Jenny said as she explained it to Blair.

"Oh really? Are you sure its not some bizarre coincidence? That's interesting if it's intentional..." Blair pondered to Jenny.

"Blair, I know how you and Chuck were in school, but its sort of like that but more...persuasive? I mean, Clyde came to St. Judes on scholarship from Hell's Kitchen, as he said, but I don't know where he gets his money to buy some of the things he does...plus several of the new Steps Girls jewelry has been disappearing lately...and of course the finger of blame points back to Clyde. I'm just afraid Bonnie's got in over her head with him." Jenny sighed.

"Well why don't you take them to task about it? I heard how you ripped into Chuck once over that incident which occurred between the two of you once, and it caused him to apologize...so if you can do that to Chuck Bass, then I'm sure Clyde Barrowsworth would be nothing...why he still looks like a kid!" Blair laughed.

"Yeah, a kid that carries a switch blade and is rumored to be packing heat in his car...and I'm not sure if I want to go up against that, without a bullet proof vest!" Jenny told Blair.

"Oh yes...I think I see your point there...still though if this kid is so dangerous, why doesn't the school do anything about it?" Blair said rather cautiously as well.

"Well you know how the school is, Blair. Practically anyone could walk into the courtyard and the teachers wouldn't notice until it was too late. It's a shame, but you know how it is, everyone gets away with almost everything. What was it that Chuck and you were suspended for though?" Jenny asked.

"Oh, for Chuck it was smoking hash at school, while for me it was that whole incident with Rachel Carr, which I still think she set me up about part of it...but I realize in retrospect that losing Yale was probably for the best because I probably wouldn't be able to be with Chuck now, and I wouldn't have my son...wow I hadn't thought of that before..." Blair contemplated a bit sadly, then went on "Anyway maybe someday I can go to Yale Law School, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. First things first, and that's going part time to either Columbia or NYU...or somewhere. Perhaps I'll even go to Marymount or Hunter College because they're just here on the Upper East Side."

"Really, Blair? You'd consider attending Marymount or Hunter? Wow, you have changed!" Jenny gasped.

"Well sometimes your priorities change as situations change, which isn't always a bad thing. Anyway, have you put any thought into which design school you want to attend next year? Unless...what is your decision about...your baby?" Blair commented.

"Well, Jason and I have discussed it, and we've decided to put it up for adoption. I think its the best decision for us now, since we both want to be able to finish school, and we have our own plans." Jenny sighed.

"Wow, you are a brave girl, Jenny. I'm glad if you've been able to make the decision that's best for you. I'm sorry that I hazed you a few years ago, that was just stupid of me then, I'll admit now." Blair sighed.

"That's fine, Blair, but thank you. I think I forgave you long ago for that. Uh anyway I need to go, so if you don't need anything else, I'll see you later and thanks for the apology." Jenny said as she collected her designs and left.

Soon after Jenny left, Chuck came home from work and flopped down on the couch close to Blair, rubbing his temples, as he let out a grumbled sigh and set his briefcase on the floor. Blair turned to him with bemused concern and asked "Tough day at work hon?"

"Yeah you wouldn't believe it! The latest real estate deal over one of the buildings we'd invested in is falling through, and the latest project manager was having issues with some of his team...uh it was a mess..." Chuck sighed as he rubbed his eyes.

"Oh that's too bad, hon I'm sorry...I hope tomorrow goes better for you...I love you, hon..." Blair sighed as she went over to him and started to massage his shoulders and forehead, giving him a kiss on his head as she ran her fingers through is hair.

"Thanks Blair...ug, that feels better...you're almost as good as the Thai girls and their message parlors...Ow what was that for?" Chuck yelped as Blair gave him a playful slap.

"Thai girls? I don't want to hear about your experience at the brothels disguised as 'massage parlors' in Thailand!" Blair fumed.

"Oh Blair it wasn't just sex there, more often than not those girls could give a good massage without it being entirely sensual. Why you've probably seen movies where someone's walked on someone's back..." Chuck playfully explained.

"You've actually had someone do that to you? No, I shouldn't even ask...you've probably had almost anything done to you! Anyway, do you want me to try that with you, Chuck?" Blair asked, a bit sarcastically.

"Hey you're my wife and you're not too heavy, so sure if you want to try go ahead." Chuck teased.

"All right then Chuck, get up so that you can lay on the floor! Unless you want to try this on our bedroom floor because the carpet's softer in there?" Blair asked as she held out her hand to help him up off the couch.

"All right woman, lead the way...if I can move!" Chuck playfully groaned.

"Ah Chuck you're not that old! Come on, old man!" Blair teased as she pulled him along.

She pulled him into the bedroom and helped him with his jacket and shoes, then told him to lay on the floor, which he did surprisingly enough. Then Blair asked him what she needed to do next, to which he replied "Just make sure you take off your shoes before you step on my back, or else you'll do more harm than good."

"Oh Chuck, I already knew that much! I'm not stupid! Okay, so I step on your back like this...and just walk on you?" Blair laughed as she tried to walk on Chuck's back.

Chuck just groaned, with relief or pain she wasn't sure, but Blair still had fun trying to walk across her husband's back, laughing "Oh Chuck this is trickier than I thought! Ha ha you make quite the balance beam, dear. I hope I'm not hurting you!"

"No...just keep doing it...I think you are making my back feel a bit better." Chuck sighed.

"Okay Chuck if you say so...ha ha...Oh hi Dorota do you need something?" Blair laughed as Dorota came into the room.

"Miss Blair what you do to Mister Chuck? You walk on him?" Dorota gasped.

"Yeah Dorota, Blair walks all over me, didn't I tell you?" Chuck teased.

"Very funny Chuck!" Blair sarcastically replied.

"Hey she does, see for yourself!" Chuck continued to tease.

"I'm just giving Chuck a message like he told me to, though I think I'm almost done now." Blair as she walked away from Chuck to learn what Dorota wanted.

"Whatever you say Miss Blair. You want me to bring baby to you now?" Dorota asked.

Before Blair could reply, Chuck piped up "Uh maybe in fifteen or twenty minutes, okay Dorota?"

"Okay Mister Chuck, I bring baby in twenty minutes." Dorota replied as she left the room.

"Chuck, why did you tell Dorota to bring the baby in twenty minutes?" Blair asked as she walked over and stood beside Chuck.

"Well because my back is feeling better, all thanks to you. Better enough I think for this.." Chuck said playfully seductive, as he rolled over and pulled Blair down beside him for some togetherness.

They had their time together on the floor, which was mostly satisfying to them, although after a few minutes Blair realized that Chuck must've been really tired because after a bit she realized he'd not only stopped, but had started to fall asleep!

"Chuck...are you awake? Aw...dear, you're something else! You must be tired...come on, get off so you can get to bed..." Blair laughed and sighed as she rolled Chuck off of her and he groggily groaned.

"All right then sleep on the floor! I'm going to get our son, and I hope that by the time I get back, you're up off the floor and taking a shower." Blair teased as she stood up.

"All right Blair, but can you help me up from the floor first?" Chuck said as he held out his hand.

"Okay Chuck, up you go!" Blair laughed as she helped him up then gave him a playful smack on his butt as she told him "All hon, go take your shower and I'll be back in a few minutes with our son."

"Okay ma'am, whatever you say...are there any pajamas in there?" Chuck asked groggily.

"Yeah I think there's a set in the one drawer in the bathroom." Blair replied as she was leaving.

"Thanks Blair! You know how to take care of me!" Chuck commented as he was leaving for the bathroom.

Chuck was in the shower, nearly falling asleep again, when suddenly he felt a tap on his back so he turned around to see Blair standing there holding the baby. "Hey what are you two doing in here too?" he asked as he gabbed for the baby.

"Oh well little Matt wanted to see how daddy was coming along in the shower, so we decided to investigate." Blair teased.

"Ah so our son's already that curious is he? I guess he's a chip off the old block, hmm?" Chuck teased as he held his son and tried to keep most of the spray off of him.

"Thanks for holding him, Chuck, so that I can wash my hair and you can watch from over there..." Blair said as she pointed across the shower.

"Just watch you and not touch? Oh Blair you're such a tease!" Chuck mockingly moaned.

"Thank you very much! Hmm, maybe it would be good just to watch and hold our son...because maybe then you won't fall asleep!" Blair laughed as she washed herself in front of Chuck, knowing that she'd get the reaction she wanted then from him, which she did.

After finishing her shower, Blair grabbed a towel and quickly wiped herself, with Chuck following close behind. She grabbed his pajama top and put it on, while he complained about her being unfair, as he slid the bottoms on and followed her into the bedroom as he grabbed a robe.

They sat on their bed with the baby for awhile, talking to and playing with him, as well as feeding him, until their son fell asleep. Then Dorota brought their dinner to their room, so they could eat it there, between resting and finishing what they'd started earlier. Still though after a bit, Chuck grew tired and curled up to fall asleep after he was done. Blair just let him sleep, curling up beside him and caressing his back while he slept. When he rolled on his back, she just laid her head on his chest and patted his belly, linking her bare feet with his, loving him for the way he was, her Chuck.